NC State University Insect Museum

I read an article today (actually "in press" at the moment) that documents the real economic impact of insect pollinators. The authors measured:

1. the contribution of insect pollination to the world agricultural output economic value, and
2. the vulnerability of world agriculture in the face of pollinator decline

"Vegetables and fruits were the leading crop categories in value of insect pollination with about ?50 billion each, followed by edible oil crops, stimulants, nuts and spices." (Gallai et al. 2008, abstract). Looks like insects' total contributions to agriculture amount to ?153,000,000,000 ($216,372,000,000), which is almost 10% of the value of all human food worldwide. WOW. Other quotable quotes:

"70% of the 124 main crops used directly for human consumption in the world, are dependent on [insect] pollinators." (Gallai et al. 2008, introduction)

"[The practice of bumble bee and honey bee colony rental] also suggests that there is already not enough wild pollinators to insure adequate pollination of all crops throughout the year in [the U.S.A. and Europe]." (Gallai et al. 2008, introduction)

Comparison of production against consumption per region and per crop category, calculated with the 2005 relative overproduction after total pollinator loss: It wouldn't be a proper economics article without some complex math. Clearly insects have a tremendous, almost immeasurable impact on the crops that humans rely on for food. I would love to see it broken down by taxon, especially to see how much of that $200+ billion is the result of Hymenoptera (*cough*bees*cough*). At least the news release for this article suggests that the pollination of these crops of human importance is "mainly" due to bees. There is so much left to explore...but this article is an excellent and informative beginning.


One thing that bothers me about this article, and it is a very minor point that can be found in tons of other current articles, is the reference to 'bumblebees' and 'honeybees' (check the introduction):

"And it is also a management tool in that honeybees, bumblebees and a few other bee species are purchased or rented by farmers in many countries to supplement the local pollinator fauna"

Well, Bombus and Apis spp. are true bees (Anthophila), and therefore should be referred to as "bumble bees" and "honey bees" respectively. By making each name one word (i.e., 'bumblebee,' with no space) the authors imply that these taxa are false bees. Here is an example: a 'sawfly' is not a true fly, but rather a ancestral wasp (Hymenoptera), whereas a 'crane fly' is a true fly (Diptera). Notice that the words are conjoined for the hymenopteran but not for the dipteran. My pedantry rears its ugly head again..?